Modeling of Surface Temperature for Near-Earth Asteroid 2016HO3

Abstract

On April 18, 2019, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) published the plan of asteroid exploration, which would select the near-earth asteroid 2016HO3 as one of its targets. On this paper, the parameters of 2016HO3 for thermal environment analysis were discussed. By investigating the current international observation data, the environmental parameters of 2016HO3 are obtained preliminarily. Then the near-Earth asteroid thermal model(NEATM) and asteroid thermal physics model (TPM) were used to model and analyze the surface temperature of 2016HO3, and the upper boulder of the temperature was 412 K. Considering the spinning effect, the day and night temperature difference at different locations was simulated and analyzed, and the temperature analysis method under the polar night conditions was proposed, then the maximum temperature difference at any position was determined to be about 30 K. Last on the basis of TPM, by the idea of the average illumination during the rotation period, the temperature analysis method of the polar night was proposed, and lower limit of temperature of 2016HO3 was achieved.

Keywords

near Earth-asteroid / 2016HO3 / thermal physics model / thermal environment / simulation